Multi-chambered ampoule for dispensing a mixture comprising several substances

ABSTRACT

A multi-chambered ampoule for dispensing a mixture of substances comprising: an oblong container ( 10 ) having at least two cylindrical chambers ( 12, 14 ) which extend in the axial direction from the rear end to the front end of the container, a respective piston ( 22, 24 ) which can be slidingly inserted into each chamber in an axial direction, creating a seal with respect to the inner wall of the chamber, and a housing ( 30 ) comprising a front section ( 32 ) which surrounds a discharge channel ( 34 ) and a rear section ( 36 ) which is adjacent to the front section, containing an inner chamber ( 38 ) formed therein into which the container can be inserted in such a way that the front end of the container defines a mixing chamber ( 33 ) inside the housing, leading into a discharge channel and provides a tight closure. In a ready-to-use state, the openings at the rear end of the chambers are closed by pistons and the openings at the front end of the chambers being sealed by a sealing means ( 40 ). A substance is contained in each of the closed chambers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a multi-chamber ampoule for dispensing amixture comprising several substances.

In the fields of medicine and cosmetics, and in other fields as well, itis frequently necessary for a multi-component product to store thedifferent components separately from one another and just mix them withone another immediately prior to application. Furthermore, it isfrequently necessary or at least desirable to store the separatecomponents as tightly sealed as possible.

It is known from EP 0 090 413 A2 to store at least two liquid, fluid, orsemi-fluid substances to be mixed during application in separatecartridges which are combined to a unit of several cartridges arrangedparallel to one another. The cartridges are made from a soft plasticfoil and have an opening at their front end only from which thesubstance stored in the cartridge can exit. The front end of thecartridge usually tapers into a cone-shaped tip with its dischargeopening being closed with a cap. In order to put it into use a unitcomprising e.g. two cartridges is inserted into a device provided with aslidable double piston by means of which it is possible to act on thetwo cartridges. Before activating the double piston the two sealing capsare removed and a common mixing device is mounted onto the tubular exitsections of the two cartridges. The mixing device is provided with twoinlet channels and a common exit channel which is in contact with thetwo inlet channels inside of the mixing device. The entire arrangementof cartridges and means for squeezing out the cartridges and mixing thesubstances forced out is designed comparatively complicated and cannoteasily be operated.

A principally very similar dosing and mixing device is known from EP 0313 519 A1. Here, two separate cartridges are inserted into a device,which is provided with an automated squeezing unit made from two pistonrods being connected to one another. A holding mechanism for thecartridges to be inserted is provided in the housing of the device. Nextto said holding mechanism, a mixing device is provided having a mixingchamber into which a mixing means extends which is exchangeable togetherwith the cartridges. Here, the mixing chambers are also connected to thecartridges by means of two inlet channels in the form of two connectingducts. For this purpose, each cartridge has a narrowing exit end, whichis to be tightly connected to the connecting duct when inserting thecartridges into the device. On their exiting end, the cartridges areprovided with a valve-like seal which breaks under pressure when thesqueezing-out unit is initially put into operation. Alternatively, atube-shaped coupling part with a sloped ring-shaped blade is provided atthe cartridge side end of each connecting duct said blade severing themembrane provided at the exit end of the cartridge when the cartridgesare inserted into the device. At the opposite end, the cartridges aresealed with a tear-off lid which is removed prior to the cartridgesbeing inserted into the device. Subsequently, the end of the cartridgesfacing the squeezing unit is solely sealed by a piston-type elementslidingly arranged in the cartridge and insertable therein. This dosingand mixing arrangement is complicatedly constructed, as well, and cannotbe operated with ease.

Furthermore, a multitude of syringe fittings has been suggested allowingto dispense mixed substances from ampoules inserted into the syringefittings. Here, on their exit or discharge side the cartridges aregenerally provided with a membrane being pierced by hollow needles whenoperated, which hollow needles mouth into a common hollow exit needlevia respective connecting channels. Additionally, the connectingchannels are sometimes provided with valves in order to allow a securelysealed transfer of the reacting agents into the common exiting needle.This is referred to in WO 92/10425, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,412, 5,599,312.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,934 the hollow piercing needles mouth into achamber where the substances mix, and are formed by a cap bolted ontothe housing of the cartridges. In AT 366 916 the two syringe bodies areinserted into a common holding arrangement. The cones of the syringebodies extend into insertable cones of a collecting head. Inside of thecollecting head, a separate feed channel leads from each cone to a conehead provided at the collecting head and having a hollow needle. AT 400675 B describes a syringe fitting in which the syringe body is connectedvia a connecting piece to form a non-dismountable syringe unit in theshape of a plate into which a piston unit is inserted. Additionally, adispensing unit that can be mounted onto the syringe unit is provided.The dispensing unit is attached to said syringe unit after removal ofthe cap-like seal. On its backside, the syringe unit is sealed bymovable piston plugs. These plugs are provided with snapping or lockingconnecting means to the front ends of the piston rods. After thedistribution unit is attached, the cones of the syringe bodies mouthinto corresponding cone-shaped recesses, which lead into separatechannels. The channels mouth into a conventional mixing canule which isattached to the dispensing piece.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-chamber ampoule fordispensing a mixture comprising several substances, which ampoule isdesigned as simple as possible and easily to be operated.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1 and 10,respectively. Preferred developments of the invention are defined in thesubclaims. The multi-chamber ampoule designed according to the inventionhas the advantage of not requiring any separate devices for dispensingand mixing the substances. Moreover, the dispensing and mixing means areintegrated in the proper multi-chamber ampoule and serve additionalfunctions therein. The pistons remaining in the chambers, for example,serve to seal the rear openings of the chambers storing the substancesand, in a preferred embodiment, these pistons form the front ends of aone-piece piston unit which does not require any separate piston plugsto be provided additionally which, again, would require a separatepiston rod unit in order to shift the plugs. Simultaneously, the mixingdevice forms the housing for receiving the container provided with thechambers and said housing seals, cooperating with the container, themixing chamber with respect to undesired leaks. Thus, sealing caps thatwould have to be removed and dispensing units to be subsequentlyattached are not required. On the one hand, the requirement for theoperator to align, attach, and fit a dispensing unit is avoided. On theother hand, the danger of leaks is omitted which can result fromconnecting units not being attached correctly.

In the ampoule according to the invention, a sealed arrangement of thecontainer with the chambers in the inner chamber or space of the housingcan be guaranteed without any additional sealing elements solely by atight contact of the walls of the container and the housing over anextended wall section. Thus, the discharge of the substances to be mixedcan occur directly from the chambers of the container into the mixingchamber. Additional conduits or channels and/or cone sections to besealingly inserted are avoided. These aspects are also true for theembodiment according to claim 10, with the function of the containeraccording to claim 1 here being performed by the piston unit accordingto claim 10 and the function of the piston unit according to claim 1being performed by the container of claim 10.

Prior to operation, according to the invention, the only manipulationrequirement for the operator for putting the ampoule into operation isto open a sealing means at the front dispensing opening of the chambers.In one embodiment, a sealing foil laterally protruding from the housingis simply pulled off. This can occur by hand. In another embodiment thesealing foil is automatically pierced by housing protrusions when thecontainer is pushed forward in the direction of the mixing chamberduring the forward motion of the piston. In contrast to the hollowpiercing needles known from prior art or to tubular coupling pieceshaving blades these housing protrusions do not form any through channelscircumferentially sealed with respect to the foil but rather servemerely for perforating the foil.

In another embodiment the sealing means is a type of plug formed suchthat, for activating the ampoule during the forward motion of thechamber container in a direction towards the mixing chamber, said plugabuts the housing and, thereby, is pressed into the interior of thechamber whereby the plug clears the chamber dispensing opening. Here,the chamber container can be directly pressed against the housing byhand or indirectly by applying pressure onto the piston unit. Ratherthan separate plugs for each chamber, preferably, a common plug unit,for example a double plug is provided for a container having twochambers for substances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein withreference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional elevation view of a first embodiment ofthe invention in a disassembled state;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the first embodiment according toFIG. 1 in an assembled state in which the substances of the chambers arestored in a sealed manner;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the first embodiment in an assembled statealong a line 3—3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of a sealing means used in the illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional elevation view of a second embodimentaccording to the invention in a disassembled state;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the substance container in aclosed state used in the second embodiment according to FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view along a section line 7—7 in FIG. 6 of asealing means used in the second embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional, broken away view of the second embodimentin an activated state;

FIG. 9 is a sectional, broken away view of essential parts of a thirdembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional elevation of a fourth embodiment of the inventionin an assembled state in which the substances are stored in the chambersin a sealed manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The first embodiment of a multi-chamber ampoule according to theinvention, shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, comprises essentially threeparts, namely a container 10, a piston arrangement 20, and a housing 30.Two separate cylindrical chambers 12 and 14 are formed in the container10, which extend in the axial direction of the container 10 and whichare open both on their rear (lower) end and on their front (upper) end.

The piston arrangement 20 comprises two circular cylindrical pistons 22and 24 arranged parallel to one another at a distance, with their rearends being connected to one another by means of a plate forming a pistonunit 26. The pistons 22 and 24 are coaxially aligned with the chambers12 and 14 and the exterior diameter of the pistons 22 and 24 essentiallycorresponds to the interior diameter of the circular cylindrical crosssection of the chambers 12 and 14 such that the pistons 22 and 24inserted into the chambers 12 and 14 contact the chamber walls as tightas possible, in particular, liquid tight, however, said pistons canstill be displaced in the axial direction. In order to fulfill both saidfunctions contradicting one another, the front ends 21 and 23 of thepistons 22 and 24 are slightly oversized with regard to the remaininglength of the piston.

The housing 30 comprises a front section 32 and a rear section 36. Thefront section 32 has a tubular shape and surrounds a discharge channel34 having a comparatively small circular cross section. The rear section36 of the housing 30 has considerably larger lateral dimensions than thefront section 32 and defines an inner chamber or space 38 which is opentowards the rear and leads in a forward direction into the dischargechannel 34. The inner chamber 38 is coaxially aligned with the container10. The container 10 has, perpendicular to the axial direction, an outercross-sectional area which essentially corresponds to the inner crosssectional area of the hollow chamber 38 so that the container 10, beinginserted from the rear into the inner chamber 38, engages thecircumferential wall of the housing 30, which defines the inner chamber38, as tight as possible, in particular, liquid tight with its outercontainer wall. The housing 30 is provided with an essentially radiallyextending shoulder 31 between the small diameter of the tubular frontsection 32 and the comparably widened rear section 36 with its largercross section dimensions. The shoulder defines a very flat space 33 inthe form of a truncated cone constituting a transitional space betweenthe wide inner chamber 38 and the relatively narrow exit channel 34,also called discharge or mixing chamber.

The shoulder 31 is sloped or beveled according to FIGS. 1 and 2 andoffers an engaging surface for acting finger pressure thereupon. Anotherfinger of the same hand is able to press the piston arrangement, so thatthe piston arrangement and the housing can be slidingly moved togetherin a telescope-like fashion in order to dispense the mixture.

In addition, in FIG. 1 a sealing means 40 is shown which is shown inFIG. 4 from above and which is provided with two sealing sections 42 and44 and a pull-off section 46.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the embodiment of the multi-chamber ampoule accordingto the invention in a state in which the ampoule can be shipped orstored, otherwise being immediately ready for operation, however. In thestoring or shipping state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the front end of thechambers 12 and 14 are closed and sealed with the sealing element 40,respectively. The sealing element 40 can be a foil, for instance, whichis glued to the front surface of the container 10 and which ispreferably welded to the front surface in the form of a plastic foil ora corresponding plastic coating. For this purpose, hot sealing processessufficiently known from plastic technology and the like can be used. Therear end of the chambers 12 and 14 is closed and sealed by the pistons22 and 24 with the front ends 21 and 23 of the pistons being insertedover a certain distance into the chambers 12 and 14, which distance isshort in relation to the length of the chambers 12, 14. The sealingmeans 40 and the pistons 22 and 24 define a fluid and liquid tight spaceor chamber within the chambers 12 and 14, respectively. The substances52 and 54 are contained in these spaces to be mixed with one anotherduring discharge.

In the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 3 and indicated in dashed linesin FIG. 1, a slot-shaped cut out 35 is provided in a side wall of therear section 36 of the housing 30 through which cut out the pull-offsection 46 of the sealing means 40 is extended outward. This measureallows that, for a common application of the substances and for puttingthe multi-chamber ampoule into use, the sealing means 40 can be pulledoff from the ampoule in the assembled state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, thusclearing the upper openings 13 and 15 of the chambers 12 and 14. In thisconnection it must be taken into account that the foil used as a sealingmeans 40 is thin to such an extent that during and after removal of thefoil through the cut out 35 no considerable leaks open between the outerwall of the container 10 and the wall of the rear section 36 of thehousing surrounding the inner space 38. Additionally, the front sectionof the container 10 is tightly pressed against the inner wall of thehousing 30, which tapers towards the front in the region of the shoulder31, by means of the pressure exerted on the piston arrangement 20necessary for the activation. Therefore, the front end of the container10 tightly and securely seals the space 33 against lateral leaks suchthat the substances 52 and 54 exit from the front openings of thechambers 12 and 14 under the influence of the thrust of the pistonarrangement 20, arrive via the space 33 in the discharge channel 34 andexit at the front end thereof. Here, the two substances 52 and 54 aremixed with one another in the space 33 and in the discharge channel 34.The mixing effect can be enhanced such that a static mixing element (notshown) is provided in the discharge channel 34. Such mixing elements aregenerally known and can have the form of a spiral, for example.

The sealing means 40 can also be used in an embodiment not having apull-off section 46. Then the sections 42 and 44 would be provided anddesigned such that they are forced away by applying a pressure force tothe piston arrangement 20 and thereby exposing the front openings 13 and15 of the chambers 12 and 14. The sealing means 40 can also be providedin the form of a thin skin or membrane integrated in the container 10and bursting when being exposed to pressure. Furthermore, sharpprotrusions extending backwards can be provided on the inner wall of theshoulder 31 which protrusions pierce the skin or membrane which spansover the upper openings 13 and 15 of the chambers 12 and 14 whenpressure is applied to the piston arrangement 20 in the forwarddirection. For this embodiment, it is advantageous when the container 10is slidingly arranged in the housing 30 such that it moves forward whena pressure force is applied to the piston arrangement and, thus, theskin or membrane is moved into the sharp protrusions. Alternatively,opening or piercing of the skin can also be achieved by directlyapplying pressure to the container 10. When such or other sealing meanswithout a pull-off section 46 are used the cut out 35 is omitted.

The parts 10, 20, and 30 of the multi-chamber ampoule are preferablymade from a thermoplastic material, for example, polyethylene. Here, thepiston arrangement 20 can be made from a plastic material of greaterhardness, however, the container 10 and the housing 30 as well shouldexhibit a certain elasticity.

The second embodiment of a multi-chamber ampoule according to theinvention, shown in FIGS. 5 through 8, comprises essentially threeparts, namely a container 110, a piston arrangement 120, and a housing130, like in the first embodiment. Two separate cylindrical chambers 112and 114 are formed in the container 110, extending in the axialdirection of the container 110 and being open both at their front endand also at their rear ends. At the bottom end of the container 110 aradially outwardly extending section 116 is provided.

The piston arrangement 120 comprises two separate pistons 122 and 124having a circular cylindrical shape, as well as two piston rods 123 and125 positioned parallel at a distance from one another, with their endsbeing connected to one another by means of a plate 126. The outerdiameter of the pistons 122 and 124 essentially corresponds to the innerdiameter of the circular cylindrical cross section of the chambers 112and 114, such that the pistons 122 and 124 inserted into the chambers112 and 114 contact or engage the chamber walls as tight as possible, inparticularly liquid tight, however, are still displaceable in axialdirection. For this purpose, the pistons 122 and 124 can be slightlyoversized with regard to the cross section of the chambers 112 and 114.

The housing 130 of the second embodiment is essentially formed in thesame manner as the housing 30 of the first embodiment. Therefore, inFIG. 4, corresponding housing parts are provided with reference numberseach having a “1” preceding those shown in FIG. 1. Since in the housing130 a different sealing means 140 is provided, the cut out 35 providedin certain embodiments of the housing 30 is also omitted in the secondembodiment. For the purpose of better handling, a radially outwardlyextending section 137 is additionally formed at the rear end of thehousing 130.

The sealing means 140 is provided in the form of a plug in order totightly seal the upper openings 113 and 115 of the chambers 112 and 114.The sealing means comprises a plate 142 with its exterior lateraldimensions essentially correspond to those of the container 110 and tothe lateral dimensions of the inner chamber 138, respectively. Twosemi-circular through holes 143 are provided in the plate 142. Adjacentto the through holes 143, two legs 144 protrude from the bottom of theplate in a downward direction which legs have a semicircular crosssection and each leg leads into a cylindrical plug 146 at its lower end.The plugs 146 serve to seal the upper openings 113 and 115 in afluid-tight manner and, therefore, they have an appropriatelydimensioned outer diameter in comparison to the inner diameter of theopenings 113 and 115.

FIG. 6 shows the container 110 in a ready-to-use state. In this state,the upper openings 113 and 115 of the chambers 112 and 114 are fluidtightly sealed by the plugs 146 of the sealing means 140. The bottom endof the chambers 112 and 114 is closed by the pistons 122 and 124inserted therein. Therefore, the sealing means 140 and the pistons 122and 124 each define a fluid or liquid tight space inside the chambers112 and 114. In these spaces or chambers, the substances (not shown) tobe mixed with one another during discharge are contained.

The ready-to-use container 110 shown in FIG. 6 can be stored andtransported separately from the housing 130. However, the secondembodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 through 8 is alsopreferably stored and transported in such a state in which theready-to-use container 110 is already inserted into the inner space 138of the housing 130, but only to such an extent that the sealing means140 is still at a distance from the shoulder 131 or only slightlyengages the shoulder 131. Thus, the multi-chamber ampoule is not yet inan activated state.

Immediately prior to putting the multi-chamber ampoule into use theactivation occurs such that by completely inserting the container 110into the inner space 138 of the housing 130 the sealing means 140 ispressed against the shoulder 131 which causes the plugs 146 to moveinwardly from the openings 113 and 115 into the chambers 112 and 114 andthe plate 142 comes into contact with the upper front surface of thecontainer 110 as shown in FIG. 8. Since the chambers 112 and 114 have alarger inside diameter than the openings 113 and 115 and the outerdiameter of the plug 146 is smaller than the inside diameter of thechambers 112 and 114 below the openings 113 and 115, respectively, theupper ends of the chambers 112 and 114 are no longer sealed and thesubstances contained therein can flow into the discharge or mixing space131 through the openings 113 and 115 as well as the through holes 143,which are now directly adjoining. The section 116 formed at the rear endof the container 110 serves to facilitate the activation by fingers withother fingers of the same hand acting upon the section 137 or theshoulder 131 of the housing 130. It is obvious for one skilled in theart that the sections 116 and 137 can be embodied in many differentforms in order to achieve the desired function, for example, also in theform of a protrusion provided only at one point of the respectivecircumferential wall or in the form of two opposite protrusions.

Then, in the activated state, the pistons 122 and 124 are moved forwardby means of the piston rods 123 and 125, connected to one another bymeans of the plate 126, into the chambers 112 and 114 in order todispense the substances. Thereby, the substances are pressed into thedischarge chamber or space 133 and dispensed from here via the dischargechannel 134, as indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 8.

In the discharge channel 134 a static mixer (not shown) can optionallybe provided, like in the first exemplary embodiment. As in the firstembodiment, instead of separate pistons 122 and 124 and correspondingpiston rods 123 and 124 a one-piece piston arrangement can be used asthat of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, separate pistonswith corresponding piston rods can likewise be used.

The shown sealing means 140 has the advantage that, in the state shownin FIG. 8 after the activation, the plate 142 clamped between the upperfront side of the container 110 and the bottom of the shoulder 131ensures that the plugs 146 cannot seal the openings 113 and 115 any morewhen the pistons 122 and 124 are moved forward since they are kept at adistance from the openings 113 and 115 by means of the legs 144.Simultaneously, the plate 142 can enhance the sealing between theexterior wall of the container 110 and the interior wall of the housing130. For this purpose, the sealing means 140 can be made from arubber-like material.

It is obvious for one skilled in the art that the sealing means 140could be modified in many ways. This is particularly true for thegeometry of the plate 142, the through holes 143, and the legs 144.Regarding the material for the individual parts of the second embodimentreference is made e.g. to the materials of the first embodiment.

Essential parts of the third embodiment are shown in FIG. 9. Here, thechambers 212 and 214 of the container 210 are closed at their upper endby means of a skin or membrane 240. A sharp protrusion 239 is providedinside the housing 230. In order to activate it, the container 210 ispushed upwards in the direction towards the sharp protrusion 239 passingover a lip 235 extending radially inward. In doing so, the protrusion239 pierces the membrane 240 such that the substance contained in thechambers of the container can be dispensed by means of a pistonarrangement not shown. In the activated state, the lip 235 supports thesealing and, simultaneously, serves to prevent a displacement of thecontainer 210 backwards due to pressure built-up during the forwardmotion of the piston arrangement.

It is obvious for one skilled in the art that similar means like the lip235 can be provided in the first and second exemplary embodiment as wellin order to enhance the sealing of the discharge or mixing chambers 33and 133 and, in particular, to prevent a reverse motion of thecontainers 10 and 110 due to pressure development in the chambers 33 and133. For this purpose, it is generally sufficient to provide a circularbead radially protruding inwardly from the inner wall of the housing 130or to provide a circular bead radially protruding outwardly from theouter wall of the container 210. If necessary, locking means can beprovided as well.

The fourth embodiment of a multi-chamber ampoule according to theinvention shown in FIG. 10 comprises essentially three parts as well,namely a container 310, a piston arrangement 320, and a housing 330. Inthe container 310 two separate cylindrical chambers 312 and 314 areformed extending in the axial direction of the container 310 and beingclosed in their rear end by means of a bottom 316.

The piston arrangement 320 comprises two circular cylindrical pistons323 and 325 provided in parallel to one another at a distance with theirfront ends being fixed to one another by means of a plate 326 formingthe piston arrangement 320. The pistons are coaxially aligned with thechambers 312 and 314 and the outer diameters of the rear piston ends 322and 324 is essentially correspond to the inner diameter of the circularcylindrical cross section of the chambers 312 and 314 such that thepistons inserted into the chambers 312 and 314 engage the chamber wallsas tightly as possible, in particularly liquid tight, though still beingshiftable in the axial direction. In order to fulfill both of thecontradicting functions the rear ends 322 and 324 of the pistons can beslightly oversized in comparison to the remaining length of the pistons323 and 325. The pistons 323 and 325 are each interspersed in theirlongitudinal direction by a through channel 327 and 329.

The housing 330 showing a discharge and mixing device comprises a frontsection 332 and a rear section 336. The front section 332 is provided intubular form and surrounds a discharge channel 334 with a relativelysmall circular cross section. The rear section 336 of the housing 330has substantially larger lateral dimensions than the front section 332and defines an inner chamber 338 which is open to the rear and leadsinto the discharge channel 334 in the forward direction. The inner spaceor chamber 338 is coaxially aligned with the piston unit 320. The pistonunit 320 has, transverse to the axial direction, an outer crosssectional area which is essentially identical to the inner crosssectional area of the hollow space 338 so that the piston unit 320,inserted from the rear into the inner chamber 338, closely engages withits outer wall the circumferential wall of the housing 330 which definesthe inner space 338 and, particularly engages this wall liquid tight.Between the tubular front section 332, having a small diameter, and therear section 336 which, in relation thereto is widened and has largercross sectional dimensions, the housing 330 is provided with a shoulder331 essentially extending in a radial direction and defining a veryflat, truncated space 333 that constitutes a transitional space betweenthe wide inner space 338 and the relatively narrow discharge channel334. This space 333 is also called discharge or mixing space or chamber.

According to FIG. 10, the shoulder 331 is sloped. It provides a pressurecontact surface for a finger and, with another finger of the same hand,it is possible to urge the container 310 such that the multi-chamberampoule telescopically moves together for dispensing the mixture. Inorder to facilitate the telescoping movement the housing 330 ispreferably provided with an extending section 337 corresponding to theextending section 137. Instead of an extension, grip wings extendingobliquely downwards could be provided as well.

The sealing means for the longitudinal channels 327 and 329 of thepistons 323 and 325 are not shown in FIG. 10. The sealing means can beprovided in the same manner as in the above-mentioned embodiments.However, in the embodiment according to FIG. 10, a sealing means can beprovided at the rear end of the piston unit 320 such, for example, inthe form of a skin or membrane covering the longitudinal channels andrupturing under the influence of pressure.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 10, a static mixer and meanscorresponding to the lip 235 of FIG. 9 can be provided in the housing330 as well.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-chamber ampoule for dispensing a mixturecomprising several substances, including: a container (10; 110; 210)having a rear end and a frontal end; at least two substance chambers(12, 14; 112, 114; 212, 214) formed through said container (10; 110;120), each of said at least two substance chambers (12, 14; 112, 114;212, 214) being positioned parallel to one another and extending in anaxial direction of the container (10; 110; 210) from said rear end tosaid frontal end of the container (10; 110; 210); at least two pistons(22, 24; 122, 124), each of said pistons slidingly inserted into one ofsaid substance chambers (12, 14; 112, 114; 212, 214) in the axialdirection through said container rear end and sealingly engaging aninner wall of the substance chamber (12, 14; 112, 114; 212, 214)receiving the piston (22, 24; 122, 124); sealing means (40; 140; 240)sealing said substance chambers (12, 14; 112, 114; 212, 214) at saidfrontal end of said container (10; 110; 210); and a housing (30; 130;230) having a front section (32; 132) and a rear section (36; 136)adjacent to the front section (32; 132), said front section (32; 132)defining a discharge channel (34; 134), and said rear section (36; 136)defining an inner cavity (38; 138) in fluid communication with saiddischarge channel (34; 134), said inner cavity (38; 138) receiving saidfrontal end of said container (10; 110; 210) and having inner wallssealingly engaging said container (10; 110; 210) to define a mixingchamber (33; 133) within said inner cavity (38; 138) and in fluidcommunication with the discharge channel (34; 134), wherein, in aready-to-use state of the multi-chamber ampoule, a substance (52, 54)can be contained within each substance chamber (12, 14; 112, 114; 212,214) closed by the sealing means (40; 140; 240) and the pistons (22, 24;122, 124), and upon breaching said sealing means (40; 140; 240), thesubstances exit said substance chambers (12, 14; 112, 114; 212, 214)directly into said mixing chamber (33; 133).
 2. The multi-chamberampoule according to claim 1, wherein, said sealing means is breached bythe substances upon urging said pistons forwardly toward the frontal endof the container in order to dispense the substances into said mixingchamber to form a mixture which is dispensed to the exterior via thecommon discharge channel (32; 132).
 3. The multi-chamber ampouleaccording to claim 1, in which a shoulder (31; 131) extends between thefront section (32; 132) and the rear section (36; 136) of the housing(30; 130).
 4. The multi-chamber ampoule according to claim 1, wherein aslot (35) is provided in a side wall of the housing (30) which providesaccess to said sealing means (40) for removing the sealing means (40).5. The multi-chamber ampoule according to claim 1, wherein a sharpprotrusion (239) for piercing the sealing means (240) is provided in thehousing (230).
 6. The multi-chamber ampoule according to claim 1,wherein the sealing means (40) is a peelable foil.
 7. The multi-chamberampoule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means (240) is a skinwhich can be perforated.
 8. The multi-chamber ampoule according to claim1, wherein the sealing means (140) is a plug that can be urged into thechamber (112, 114).
 9. The multi-chamber ampoule according to claim 1,wherein the pistons (20, 22) are connected to one another at their rearend forming a one-piece piston arrangement (20).
 10. The multi-chamberampoule according to claim 1, wherein a circular bead (235) is formed onone of the interior wall of the housing (230) and the exterior wall ofthe container.
 11. A multi-chamber ampoule for dispensing a mixturehaving one or more substances comprising: a container (310) having arear end and a frontal end; at least two substance chambers (312, 314)formed through said container (310), said substance chambers (312, 314)being positioned parallel to one another and extending in an axialdirection of the container (310) from said rear end to said frontal endof the container, said substance chambers (312, 314) being closed atsaid rear end by a bottom (316); a piston (322, 323, 324, 325) slidinglyand sealingly inserted in an axial direction in each of said substancechambers (312, 314), each of said pistons (32, 323, 324, 325 having athrough channel (327, 329) formed therethrough in the axial direction,and said pistons (322, 323, 324, 325) are fixed to one another forming apiston unit (320); a housing (330) having a front section (332) and arear section (336) adjacent to the front section, said front sectiondefining a discharge tunnel (334), and said rear section having an innercavity (338) provided therein in fluid communication with said dischargetunnel (334), said inner cavity receiving at least a portion of saidpiston unit (320) such that the piston unit (320) defines and tightlyseals a mixing space (333) inside the housing (330); and sealing meansclosing said through channels (327, 329) opening into said mixing space,wherein, in the ready-to-use state of the multi-chamber ampoule, one endof the chambers (312, 314) is closed by the piston unit (320), and thethrough channels (327, 392) of the pistons (322, 323, 324, 325) have oneend open to the respective chamber (312, 314) and an opposing end closedby said sealing means, and upon breaching said sealing means, substancesdisposed in spaces defined by said chambers (312, 314) and throughchannels (327, 329) exit directly into said mixing space (333).
 12. Amulti-chamber ampoule for dispensing a mixture comprising severalsubstances, including: a container (10) having a rear end and a frontalend; at least two substance chambers (12, 14) formed through saidcontainer (10), each of said substance chambers (12, 14) beingpositioned parallel to one another and extending in an axial directionof the container (10) from said rear end to said frontal end of thecontainer, at least two pistons (22, 24), each of said pistons slidinglyand sealingly inserted into one of said substance chambers (12, 14) inthe axial direction; sealing means (40) sealing said substance chambers(12, 14) at said frontal end of said container (10); and a housing (30)having a front section (32) and a rear section adjacent said frontsection, said front section (32) defining a discharge tunnel (34), andsaid rear section defining an inner cavity (38) in fluid communicationwith said discharge tunnel, said inner cavity (38) receiving saidfrontal end of said container (10) and having inner walls sealinglyengaging said container (10) to define a mixing chamber (33) within saidinner cavity (38), wherein, in a ready-to-use state of the multi-chamberampoule, a substance (52, 54) can be contained in each substance chamberclosed by the sealing means (40) and the pistons (22, 24), and uponbreaching said sealing means (40), said substances exit said substancechambers (12, 14) directly into said mixing chamber (38), said housingincluding an engaging surface (31) for manually acting thereupon inorder to slidingly move together said pistons and housing in atelescope-like manner for urging the substances out of said chambers(12, 14); wherein said sealing means (40) is a peelable foil sealingsaid substance chambers (12, 14) from said mixing chamber (38) and saidpeelable foil includes a pull-off section (46) which extends through aslot (35) formed through wall of said housing (30) for removing thesealing means to allow said substances to breach said sealing means(40).
 13. A multi-chamber ampoule for dispensing a mixture comprisingseveral substances, including: a container (110) having a rear end and afrontal end; at least two substance chambers (112, 114) formed throughsaid container (110), each of said substance chambers (112, 114) beingpositioned parallel to one another and extending in an axial directionof the container (110) from said rear end to said frontal end of thecontainer, at least two pistons (122, 124), each of said pistonsslidingly and sealingly inserted into one of said substance chambers(112, 114) in the axial direction; sealing means (140) sealing saidsubstance chambers (112, 114) at said frontal end of said container(110); and a housing (130) having a front section (132) and a rearsection adjacent said front section, said front section (132) defining adischarge tunnel (134), and said rear section defining an inner cavity(138) in fluid communication with said discharge tunnel, said innercavity (138) receiving said frontal end of said container (110) andhaving inner walls sealingly engaging said container (110) to define amixing chamber (133) within said inner cavity (138), wherein, in aready-to-use state of the multi-chamber ampoule, a substance can becontained in each substance chamber closed by the sealing means (140)and the pistons (122, 124), and upon breaching said sealing means (140),said substances exit said substance chambers (112, 114) directly intosaid mixing chamber (133), said housing including an engaging surface(131) for manually acting thereupon in order to slidingly move togethersaid pistons and housing in a telescope-like manner for urging thesubstances out of said chambers (112, 114); wherein said sealing means(140) is a plug means that, when activating the multi-chamber ampoule,abuts a housing wall (131) whereupon it is urged into said chambers(112, 114) clearing the upper ends thereof.
 14. The multi-chamberampoule according to claim 13, wherein said plug means (140) has plugsections (146) closing the upper ends of said chambers (112, 114) in thenon-activated state of the multi-chamber ampoule, and a plate section(146) having through holes (143) and being provided at the plug meansend opposite to the plug sections (146) for abutting against saidhousing wall (131) in the activated state of the multi-chamber ampouleand for assisting to seal said mixing chamber (133).
 15. A multi-chamberampoule for dispensing a mixture comprising several substances,including: a container (210) having a rear end and a frontal end; atleast two substance chambers (212, 214) formed through said container(210), each of said substance chambers being positioned parallel to oneanother and extending in an axial direction of the container (210) fromsaid rear end to said frontal end of the container, at least twopistons, each of said pistons slidingly and sealingly inserted into oneof said substance chambers (212, 214) in the axial direction; sealingmeans (240) sealing said substance chambers (212, 214) at said frontalend of said container (210); and a housing (230) having a front sectionand a rear section adjacent said front section, said front sectiondefining a discharge tunnel, and said rear section defining an innercavity in fluid communication with said discharge tunnel, said innercavity receiving said frontal end of said container (210) and havinginner walls sealingly engaging said container (210) to define a mixingchamber within said inner cavity, wherein, in a ready-to-use state ofthe multi-chamber ampoule, a substance can be contained in eachsubstance chamber closed by the sealing means (240) and the pistons, andupon breaching said sealing means (240), said substances exit saidsubstance chambers (212, 214) directly into said mixing chamber, saidhousing including an engaging surface for manually acting thereupon inorder to slidingly move together said pistons and housing in atelescope-like manner for urging the substances out of said chambers(212, 214); wherein said sealing means (240) is a skin at said upperends of the chambers (212, 214) in the non-activated state of themulti-chamber ampoule and being perforated by means of a protrusion(239) in the activated state of the multi-chamber ampoule, saidprotrusion being provided within the mixing chamber of said housing(230).